


Strawberry

by KikiPatata



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Asano Gakuhou's A+ Parenting, Asano Gakuhou's Bad Parenting, Asano Gakushuu is Bad at Feelings, Asano Gakushuu is in Class 3-E, Asano is hiding something, Asano relationship isn't that bad though cuz Irina's around, Assassin Asano Gakushuu, Assassin Asanos, BAMF Asano Gakushuu, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Blood and Gore, Childhood Trauma, Endgame Asano Gakushuu/Horibe Itona, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Help him he just wants to beat his father, Horibe Itona is also Bad at Feelings, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I don't really wanna delve deep into that, I mean they are killers so, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Irina Jelavic Saves the Mood, M/M, Mild only though, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Secrets end up getting revealed, but I'm warning ya, help them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27399100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KikiPatata/pseuds/KikiPatata
Summary: In dire need of extra help to save the world, the Ministry of Defense is in shambles. Thankfully, Irina has just the right person in mind to help them."Gakunn, c'mon. I know you want-""No"Ok. So maybe strawberry cake isn't enough to persuade an assassin.Aka. Gakushuu is a powerful and respected assassin under the codename 'Strawberry'. His expertise is needed by the world in order to stop a yellow octopus from exploding. He agrees, but in return, his identity is not revealed as he would like to keep it hidden.Well, things don't always go according to plan.
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Asano Gakushuu, Asano Gakuhou & Asano Gakushuu, Asano Gakushuu & Irina Jelavić, Asano Gakushuu & Korosensei, Asano Gakushuu & Original Character(s), Asano Gakushuu/Horibe Itona, Irina Jelavić/Karasuma Tadaomi, it's only implied though so ig not really?
Comments: 36
Kudos: 112





	1. A Meeting Room is a Warzone

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm Kai  
> she/her
> 
> This is kinda my very first work so I'm sorry if it's not up to your taste or if I have some mistakes. I'm not really a writer (more of a reader), but I've had this is my head for days and I live for stories where Gakushuu is hiding something or has a big secret so I decided to be creative and write something. I will do my best with this story and try to improve my writing skills as I go.
> 
> This story is pretty much inspired by sommer_annie's The Department series. It inspired me to write a story about Gakushuu being an assassin.  
> This is the link to the whole series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/681869
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy the story~

“This is impossible!” a man shouts. Multiple people were inside a conference room, all of which were in deep thought. Behind the man seated in the centremost top of the long (very long) elongated table was a screen that showed a yellow octopus wearing a blinding crescent moon-like smile.

The different heads and some members of Japan’s Ministry of Defence were in a meeting in order to discuss the recent happenings regarding the super creature that was bound to destroy Earth come March next year. Said creature is also currently teaching at one of Japan’s most elite schools, Kunigigaoka Junior High School.

The creature is set on teaching the students of class 3-E, whilst the students are to be trained in order to become the world’s saviours. _Aka, a bunch of Junior High kids are given weapons to assassinate their class adviser_.

Crazy how the world works. You find yourself one of the possible saviours of the world at age 14. Anyone would love to be gifted with such an opportunity. The only catch is you have to kill. Watching cartoons, you probably realize that it must be to kill one of those evil villans in order to become the world’s saviour.

Oh, how surprised you must be to learn that your target is your class adviser! Your teacher that supports you and sees the good in you (unlike everyone else).

Honestly, this is probably a horrible idea, considering the fact that different assassins can be hired instead of leaving the world’s fate into those of children, but the creature, dubbed ‘Koro-sensei’, has expressed his desire for the students to be the ones to kill him.

And who were they to disagree with a time-ticking octopus bomb? Furthermore, the less amount of people that know about his existence, the better. He (It?) is a state secret after all.

It has been a month since the first day of classes in Kunigigaoka.

1 month of learning under a yellow octopus

1 month of assassination

1 month of no success

Sure, it has only been **1 month** , but the state of the world was at hand. The Ministry of Defence was becoming weary as the student’s abilities were nowhere near killing a monster that could move at the speed of Mach 20.

He could dodge your attacks while trimming your nails, ironing your clothes, _and_ cutting your hair. That was how powerful he was.

_A true monster indeed._

A meeting had to be held _(as if they don’t hold meetings regularly)_ in order to discuss their next approach at killing the monstrous beast.

That brings us to the present.

“Why don’t we hire professional gunmen to-” “Rejected. He can smell the gunpowder immediately.”

In the corner of the room, a blonde woman flinches.

“How about we indulge the-” “Rejected.”

“I haven’t even-” “Rejected.”

And yes, the meeting is bound to last a **long** while.

_=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=_

_I_ rina was getting bored.

Watching everyone struggle to find a solution, while pretending to be doing the same has proven to be very boring. It was fun at first, but after an hour, it wasn’t so fun anymore.

She was pretending to pay attention, her stoic expression hiding the amusement that she held deep inside.

What can she say, seeing people get flustered in the face of higher authority and an audience of 23 people amuses her. She can clearly tell that around 5-8 people are not paying attention, yet their faces of concentration and their rigid postures impress her.

It was _definitely_ fun at first.

Now, she just wanted to go home.

‘I’ve been sitting in this stuffy chair for so looonnnggg. Why can’t they just make up their minds so we can all move on?!’

Irina simply wanted to go to a certain strawberry-blond haired boy’s house, but no one needed to know that.

‘Maybe I could stretch just for a bit.’ She looks around to see if anyone’s watching. All she sees are people sitting rigidly straight and staring forward. To one, it may seem as if they are deeply engrossed in the discussion, but it doesn’t take an assassin to figure out that 5 or more of them were not paying any attention.

Irina would know. She’s doing it right now.

After confirming that indeed no one was looking her way, she smirks inwardly, ‘Coast is clear.’

Stretching isn’t forbidden per say, but it is highly discouraged as it does not show professionalism.

But Irina is not one to follow such **boring** rules.

Slowly, she unravels her crossed legs and reaches them forward ever so slightly. Just as she was finally able to uncross her legs, she feels someone’s foot stepping on hers.

‘My sandals-’

Karasuma throws her a dirty look from where he sits beside her. Don’t even dare.

Irina just pouts, glares, and returns to her very uncomfortable yet lady-like position.

_How rude._

_=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=_

An hour has passed, yet a consensus was still not reached.

It’s reached the point where Sato Itsuki, a man who was rather new and one of the members of the Planning Division looked like he was losing his mind. He’d been bouncing off ideas now, looking for an answer that would satisfy the Head of Operations.

Unfortunately, it isn’t even the head of Operations that makes ending this overly-prolonged meeting difficult.

Oh no, the problem lies with his ‘Right –Hand Man’, Inoue Kenji.

Being the Second-In-Command of Mizukoshi Fuji, the Head of Operations, he too had a say in the approach that will be taken.

When Itsuki had started working in the Ministry, he had been excited to work with people that were busy protecting the people of Japan.

Ask his co-workers. They’d tell you that he was literally bouncing in excitement.

Speaking of his co-workers, they were rather nice, but of course they were also very stoic and professional.

At least that was what Itsuki thought of them at first.

But after working in the Ministry for 3 months, he began to see their different sides.

Natasha Fischer

Tall, Blonde, Bright green eyes, Pale

She is foreign so her Japanese had a slight accent whenever she spoke. She used to be bullied in college because of her very prominent German accent. Due to the bullying, she is quite timid and tends to speak softly.

Nanaba Zhang

A bit on the shorter side (taller than Itsuki by a small margin, but Itsuki is a midget so-), Dark blue hair, Dark brown eyes, Fair skinned

Her mother’s Japanese, while her father’s Chinese. They apparently decided to give their daughter a Japanese name as they had been living in Japan anyway. She looks relatively scary due to her short hair with an undercut and her cut eyebrow, but she seems rather caring (in her own way).

Leo Cohen

Tall, Reddish brown hair, Dull black eyes, Tan

He tends to not speak much and prefers saying short phrases. He’s TALL and no, Itsuki isn’t kidding when he says that he is tall. He acts as sort of the right hand man of the Division Head, Ito Himari.

Natasha and Nanaba had warned him on his first day about Inoue Kenji. He glanced at Leo for confirmation and the older man just kept a stoic face and nodded once.

The things he heard were…..not very nice. Anyone would tell you that Inoue deserves his current position due to his amazing combat abilities, but his personality and attitude were not appreciated.

He was handsome (Itsuki had overheard a bunch of girls discussing his looks so it’s objective!), but he’d probably be the type to deliberately change your report just because you took the last chocolate pudding in the cafeteria.

‘It’s not my fault you were too busy napping-’

You can raise all of your concerns towards his laziness and injustices, but you can’t argue with the fact that he is more than qualified for his position.

Someone decided to voice out his concerns about him. It’s been a year since, and let’s just say that he never came back to work.

These were all baseless rumors of course. _How can it be baseless when the demon himself is in the next building-_

Baseless

That was until Itsuki met him.

At first Inoue was nothing but nice. He wasn’t being overly-friendly yet it didn’t seem like he harboured any distaste towards the newbie.

But their first meeting was something Itsuki would like to erase permanently from his and everyone else’s memories.

The brunet was heading towards the cafeteria where he was supposed to meet Leo and Nanaba when he coincidently slipped on a puddle of chocolate milkshake. He felt as if he was falling forward and saw someone exiting the cafeteria. He saw reddish brown hair and thanked the gods because Leo was there.

He spared no time and immediately reached out both of his arms in an attempt to grab on to him, but the person just twisted his body and moved so Itsuki’s arms simply graced his white button-up.

_Fuck you Leo._

Just like that Itsuki fell on the disgustingly sticky puddle of chocolate milkshake.

He glared at the pair of black shoes in front of him because how dare he?!

He slowly lifted himself and came face to face with a stone-faced man with a pair of deep blue eyes.

Itsuki froze.

He blinked once, twice.

There was no mistaking it. It was Inoue Kenji standing with his slightly stained sleeve.

‘Did I do that?!’

Itsuki’s hazel eyes shook as he remained kneeling in front of the Inoue Kenji.

“Oi”, the man started.

‘This is it’, the brunet thought.

Inoue crouched and grabbed Itsuki’s head, making the brunet face him.

Inoue gave him a cold look and said, “Don’t waste chocolate like that.”

Which ultimately confused the younger boy.

‘I didn’t even spill the damn milkshake!’

But of course he said nothing because anyone willing to go against those deep, electric blue eyes would be a madman. And alas, Itsuki is not a madman.

At least **not yet**.

Inoue stands up at the lack of response and leaves with a “Tch”.

So there Itsuki remained in his chocolate milkshake stained pants, kneeling in front of the door towards the Food Hall aka the cafeteria.

Itsuki was too dazed to even comprehend that Nanaba and Leo saw the whole thing and were currently looking at him through the small opening of the cafeteria door.

The only thing that Itsuki could remember from that encounter was that Inoue wears **platforms**.

_‘Huh, he’s pretty short.’_

It wasn’t like Itsuki could meet him often after that anyway. He was simply in the Planning Division after all. He was centred towards Analysis, not on field work. They were not bound to meet as much.

Right?

Wrong.

Turns out a yellow octopus threatening to destroy Earth could change work assignments drastically.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

All in all Inoue Kenji was definitely not an easy man to please. He seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but in the meeting due to his dead-looking deep blue eyes, yet he denies everything Itsuki proposes. What’s even worse is that no one else seemed to have their own opinions on the matter. Some would pipe up from time-to-time only to agree or disagree.

‘Yeah, they can shove their “You can trust us newbie!” up their asses because this **newbie** was doing all the work.’

From time to time, he glances towards his left where the other members of the Planning Division were seated, showing them a pleading look, yet they simply glanced away except for Fujiwara Akihiko.

Akihiko looked at him amusedly.

‘Why are you enjoying my pain?!’

His distress must’ve been clear as the corners of Akihiko’s mouth curled up ever so slightly.

_What a bitch._

Itsuki’s meeting with Akihiko did not prove to be relevant to the short brunet. He was walking through the western corridors of the Planning Division and minding his own business when he caught a glimpse of jet-black hair. He didn’t mind the man and kept walking.

After all, he had to bring a stack of papers to the Head of the Planning Division, Ito Himari, who was probably coped up in her work once again.

Itsuki’s been informed about her workaholic tendencies so from the day he arrived, he makes sure to check up on her from time to time.

He was on his way when he suddenly felt someone’s eyes on him. He turned around to ask what the person wanted from him, but he was surprised to see silver eyes staring right at him.

The person did not seem to mind that he was caught staring, instead it seemed as if he was **glad** that Itsuki caught him.

Before Itsuki could get any words out, the strange silver-haired man smiled and turned around, walking in the other direction.

The confused brunet just shrugged it off and made his way to Ito’s office.

Back to the present, Akihiko maintained eye contact just as he had that day.

Itsuki decided to be the one to break it off and looked at his 3 closest workmates instead.

Natasha was looking at her lap, Nanaba was checking out her dark purple nails, and Leo was just being Leo, staring forward with a serious expression.

All in all, Itsuki looked (and felt) like an abandoned dog looking at the random passersby that payed him little to no mind.

_Heartless bastards all of them._

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ito Himari had finally had enough of the meeting. The back and forth had been going on for so long.

She had 7 reports to finish damnit!

She can’t waste any more time in this stupid meeting when she could be off doing other things.

Inoue and Itsuki were simply staring at each other now.

‘It’s go time.’

Ito stands up and makes her way to the door or well that was supposed to be her well thought out plan, but Itsuki and Inoue just had to begin their never-ending conversation.

So Ito slams her hand on the desk, pushes herself up her chair, and gives everyone in the room a dead look.

_Step 1:_

_A dead look always gives a serious vibe. It stops people from questioning your actions. Slamming your hand on the table will also bring everyone's eyes onto you._

Everyone stares at the dark purple-haired woman as she makes her way across the room towards the door.

_Step 2:_

_Have your goal in mind. Ignore the looks of others. You want their attention so you seem less suspicious, but do not let their looks of confusion get to you._

“Miss Ito, what are you-”, she stops the words of Sam, a member of the Records Division by putting her hand out.

_Step 3:_

_Act as weird as possible. Do NOT care about what people think, stop them before they ask any questions._

She opens the door and clears her throat.

Everyone sits in antagonizing discomfort as they wait for her words. It was strange how they felt the need to remain silent even when so many questions filled their heads.

_Step 4:_

_Make them feel uncomfortable._

“Ah”

‘Ah,’ they subconsciously repeat.

“Assassin”

She gives them a side glance as a calming look encompasses her features, yet the dead eyes remain intact. Her glasses reflect the light from the outside. _Freedom_

_Step 5:_

_Leave before you regret your decisions_.

She exits the room as fast as possible and immediately breaks into a grin. She speed-walks towards the West Department where her office was located.

A beat of silence enveloped the whole room.

‘What was tha-’

Before anyone could finish that line of thought, Leo speaks up.

With a deep voice, he says, “An assassin could help get the job done.”

Everyone was stunned because of the recent happenings, even more, they were surprised at how calm he was when his Division Head just escaped an important meeting.

Amongst everyone else’s bewildered eyes, his black ones only held admiration for Ito.

‘She did all of that just to stop the back and forth and allow the meeting to advance. I shall support Division Head Ito no matter what.’

(Imagine him closing his eyes with tears at the corners and a re-enactment of Ito saying "Assassin" and leaving the room in the background lol.)

Catching his drift, Natasha nods her head as she regains her composure, “Yes, as Division Head Ito mentioned, it would be wise of us to have a trained assassin watch over the class.”

Nanaba adds, “He or she would always be on standby to either protect the students from the creature or deal the finishing blow when deemed necessary.” She flicks her deep blue locks.

Itsuki, feeling tired, simply nods his head twice.

Before Inoue could say anything, Mizukoshi raises his hand towards him, a silent order to stop.

“And how would we be able to find such a capable assassin?”

The three silently gulp, meanwhile Itsuki rejoices inwardly because _Yes! We’re finally getting somewhere_.

Natasha carefully speaks up first, “There are plenty of perfectly trained assassins out there sir.”

“Yes, but can they kill an octopus that moves at the speed of Mach 20?”

Mizukoshi leans forward and places his chin on his clasped hands.

Everyone remains silent at his words.

It was true. How can a living human being be able to kill such a creature?

“Well, there you have it. It seems that we have to take another-”

“I know someone who can.”

Everyone’s heads turn to blonde woman sitting near the end of the table.

Mizukoshi spits out, “Oh? A human being that can get the work done?”

“Yeah, he’s kind of an ass and tends to focus on his studies other than his uh _endeavours_ ,”

Everyone’s ears perked up at the word studies because a kid seriously??

Karasuma just remained calm, but he as well, could not understand where the blonde woman was taking this conversation and who this mystery assassin could possibly be.

“But I’m sure that he can get the work done. After all, it isn’t only assassination that he has up his sleeves.”

The room goes quiet once again. Irina simply smiles, albeit a little bit flirtatiously, but that’s what happens when you get used to your line of work.

“Oh, and he’s 14.”

“I see,” Mizukoshi’s lips curl up just a little.

Everyone in the room looks at him, waiting for his next words.

“Well, we’ll have to meet this boy then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellou
> 
> I'm sorry if it wasn't to your liking? I tried my best with this so I hope you liked it. I know that there isn't any Gakushuu action going on, but he's coming out soon. I'm honestly really excited for the next chapters. I'll post every 2-3 days or maybe every week. I will do my very best to keep up with this schedule. I will do my best on the upcoming chapters as well. I hope you enjoy the book ~
> 
> If you did enjoy it, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or kudos. It will boost my morale. ^¬^
> 
> Well, that's it for now.  
> Baiii


	2. Irina Against the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Irina hates whoever divine being decided to put her up for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii
> 
> I'm sorry for posting late, but I had to stay somewhere else for a while so I couldn't write. I know I said that Gakushuu was coming up in this chapter, but I decided that it was going a bit fast? so I wanted to add a short part before the 'meeting'. Also some KaraIri (Karasuma x Irina) moments coming your way.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this ~

Irina was happy, no, she was **overjoyed**.

The Ministry of Defence actually took her seriously meaning she could drag along the strawberry blonde boy into her problems.

She and Karasuma were in a black vehicle along with two members of the operation. If she can recall, their names were Michael and Sally?

She wasn’t really interested when the two introduced themselves so she isn’t sure.

When she had opened up about knowing just the right person, she didn’t expect the Head _(or anyone really)_ to listen to her ramblings.

She recalls the look on their faces when she revealed his ‘identity’.

They were definitely _surprised._

She grins inwardly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“He goes by the codename Strawberry if that rings a bell.”

Everyone was stunned. Even Maya, who getting a glass of water from the dispenser in the corner of the room froze, making her cup overflow with water.

Mizukoshi, Inoue, Akihiko, and Mike seemed to be the only ones keeping their cool.

Irina takes note that Akihiko’s reaction was late and somehow forced.

_Weird_

Irina pointed out the water dripping on the velvety red carpet on the floor, which eventually made the shock wear off.

Everyone in the room slowly composes themselves.

“Interesting, is this the same Strawberry that is yet to be tracked by anyone?” Mizukoshi’s eyes sparkle with amusement.

Irina doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

_Probably the latter._

Someone mumbles _“That carpet was expensive.”_ in the back and Irina guesses that it must be the girl from earlier, _Sam?_ if she’s not mistaken. The short-haired blonde immediately begins taking note of the damage made on her navy blue notebook, while Maya incoherently whispers apologies.

Irina couldn’t be bothered to care though as Mizukoshi was staring straight into her and was most probably hoping for a positive answer.

“Well, I know him so I’m not so sure about that.” She says coyly, bringing her chin atop her overly-elegantly situated hands. If she did that to mock the man’s gesture, no one had to know.

Irina knew. Of course she did. Strawberry was an internationally known assassin, a killer. He was good at his profession and left no tracks, but one day, a picture of the back of his head was successfully leaked. No one knows who took the photo and chances are that the said person was already dead. _The poor_ soul. It did not show his face, which was hidden behind a mask, but his strawberry blonde hair was seen in the image.

If Irina remembers, Gakushuu was 12 in the leaked picture.

Not knowing what to call the mystery assassin who had ended multiple drug rings, lives, businesses, and many more with as much stealth as possible, he was referred to as ‘Strawberry’.

If you ask Gakushuu, he would refer to it as cringe-worthy and cliché, but the assassin does not make his own identity. It was a sign of power when the public was the one to determine a killer’s name.

Irina’s proud to say that she knows an extremely mysterious and sought after 14-year-old assassin. She might be world-wide herself, but knowing someone who plenty of people are desperate to know the identity of is such a thrilling feeling.

_Almost like knowing the yellow octopus._

“Who is he?”

Irina remained silent.

‘He’s asking the big questions now.’

“I see, so you don’t plan on revealing his private information.” It wasn’t phrased as a question. It was a stated as a matter of fact.

Irina continued to keep her mouth shut.

“Very well then. How do you plan on getting _him_ on board?”

“Well,” the blonde carefully started, not knowing how to answer that question.

_She really hadn’t thought that far ahead._

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Which is why once again, multiple ideas were thrown to the Head’s way.

Irina was honestly just too tired to listen to everything, but one suggestion did stick out to her.

“How about we kidnap him. He would have no choice but to agree if we take him forcefully.”

“Plus, we have her on our side. She knows where he lives.”

Sam looks at her direction. She looks prideful, almost gloating.

Irina doesn’t understand what she looks so proud for.

She’s honestly never hated a fellow blonde this much before, but _kidnapping a fourteen year old???_

Sure, Gakushuu is an assassin, but he was still a child. Irina knows that the kid was stronger than probably everyone in the room, but it all bottles down to ‘he’s a child. He should have choices and not get forced into dealing with a monstrous beast and protecting a bunch of junior high kids just because the adults of this world can’t do it.

She voices out that much, leaving out the name of course, and the table quiet downs.

Sam looks like she has something to say, but Mizukoshi beats her to it.

“The how do **you** plan on getting him on board?”

Irina feels everyone’s gaze on her.

It was the question from earlier, but she can tell that this time it was different.

_It was up to her._

She thinks for a moment and embraces the feeling of brainstorming under pressure.

Gakushuu’s identity shouldn’t be revealed, she knows **that** much, but other than that, she doesn’t really know how to approach the subject.

She could go to his house and convince him by herself, after all, she was always crashing at the Asano household, but the Ministry of Defence would most probably not agree because

1, they don’t really trust Irina ( _I mean, would you??_ ) when it comes to convincing him and over all just at anything really.

And 2, the Ministry of Defence would want to play a part, meaning that if this was Irina’s plan of action, they would most probably come with her especially since Strawberry is seen as such a huge threat.

But of course, since Irina is shit at planning, (It’s under pressure-) she decides to go with what she currently has and make up something on the way.

The uncomfortable chair, gazes, uncomfortable **everything** was getting to her.

Just as she expected, the Ministry of Defence agreed, but plans on sending her along with 2 members (Seriously, are their names Michael and Sally??) and Karasuma.

The moment the head says that she has 1 month to convince Strawberry is when Irina knows that there’s no backing out anymore.

_Nice going self._

_Real nice._

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

So here they were headed towards the Asano household, or at least Irina is. But do the other people in the car know that?

No, no, they don’t.

She’s pretending that she’s trying to hide her discomfort by staring out the window, when in fact, she was simply waiting for the perfect area to tell the driver to stop.

She was not nervous at all. She was **definitely** pretending.

Because Irina herself is an assassin and she knows that Gakushuu would not appreciate having the Military of Defence knowing his identity when he himself was not the one who disclosed it, she came up with a plan. She was going to tell them to stop at a random house and leave the car as quickly as possible.

She would bail on them.

It was fool-proof.

She didn’t know what direction she’d be going to or how she’s going to outrun them, but it was **fool-proof**.

Now, she just had to pick the right place to tell the driver to stop, but it certainly isn’t easy when two people are giving you intense looks of suspicion and doubt.

Irina doesn’t blame them. Michael and Sally whatever their names were.

After all, she was planning on escaping so really they were right to grace her with distrust.

‘They could try to hide it better though.’ She internally mumbles.

Contrary to popular belief (if anyone did believe in it), Irina does not enjoy getting **such** looks.

After 15 minutes of uncomfortable silence, Irina decides to speak up.

_It’s go time._

“I believe this is the right spot. We can stop here.” She says with as much grace as flower petal falling perfectly on someone’s palm. (Seriously though, how does that work-)

Everyone in the vehicle grows alert as it comes slowly comes to a halt.

Irina quickly reaches for the door handle, but of course, with as much grace as possible.

An assassin going for a kill this time.

She opens the door swiftly and exits the vehicle, and before anyone could make a move to stand, she **bolts**.

She walks normally for about 0.25 seconds and immediately breaks out into a run.

She hears their voices from inside the vehicle and _shit Karasuma’s out_.

Deciding to abandon all of her grace and dignity, she removes her sandals, grabs one, and yanks it at his face.

‘Bulls-eye’ 

He looks taken aback and Irina, for some reason, does not see the other two members.

Realizing that Karasuma was quickly catching up, she grunts and races further for about 2 minutes.

‘God, my feet are killing me.’ She internally groans.

Why did she think this was a good idea again?

She couldn’t be bothered to currently entertain those thoughts because she sees a short wall that separates this street from the next.

She thanks the divine being that decided that her suffering was enough and granted her with a 6 foot stone wall.

‘Just climb this then 3 streets over is Gakushuu’s house.’

She knew the route to the boy’s house like the back of her hand. She can’t tell if it was instinct because she had been there too many times or because it’s the only place she could ever think to go to anytime.

Anyways, she could finally get breathing room just after this wall-

But alas, Irina has underestimated the enemy.

Just as she manages to pull herself up the short wall, she feels a calloused hand encircle her left ankle.

She pulls herself up and uses her arm strength to push herself down again to kick the ankle-abuser in his face using the same foot he was holding onto.

‘What a persistent man.’ She scowls.

She uses her remaining sandal and hits Karasuma in the face repeatedly.

“Why are you doing this?!” Karasuma grunts out, annoyed by the light blue sandal.

He was grateful that the heels were flat. If they were pointed then he doesn’t know if he would ever be able to use his eyes again.

“Let go of my leg,” comes the reply.

A sandal hits his face after every word.

Instead of letting go, Karasuma tightens his grip and pulls the blonde down.

Irina tries to struggle and pull herself up, but the universe just seemed to hate her that very day and decided that nothing good was to happen.

_Just when I thought a divine being was on my side._

So she slips and falls, this time, not so gracefully.

‘Males and their muscly arms.’

She lets out a silent shriek of surprise and drops like a sack of rice.

She silently picks herself up and scrambles into the wall, making her back face the stone that separates her and freedom.

She would look up immediately and maybe break into another run, but the only thing in her mind was ‘ _This is so embarrassing Oh God-_ ’

She feels Karasuma looming on top of her so she looks up and yes,

“Glare at me more darling.”

Karasuma looks irritated and crouches down.

“What was that all about?”

‘Straight to the point I see. We love a straight man.’

“Whatever do you mean?” There’s a hint of confusion in her voice and Irina tries her very best to look as innocent as possible.

Like she didn’t just try to outrun a member of the Ministry of Defence, escape by jumping over a wall, and hit his face repeatedly and aggressively with a sandal.

The man surprisingly just sighs and rubs his temple.

“Stop acting like that.”

At Irina’s raised brow, he continues.

“Why did you try to escape? And where do you plan to go?”

Irina shakes her head. “I wasn’t trying to run away. I was just…..looking for him.”

“Then why did you try to fend me off?” It was the man’s turn to lift his brow.

“There was a dog behind you and I hate dogs!” Irina places her hand in front of her chest and fakes being offended.

“Sure.” Karasuma says, unamused. “A dog was chasing me the **whole** time and you were simply aiming at the creature, not at my face.”

“….yes”

He shakes his head and gets up from his crouching position. Irina hears him silently mumble something along the lines of, “I don’t get paid enough for this.”

But Irina doesn’t pay that any mind.

Instead her attention is centred towards the hand outstretched her way.

She looks at him like he’d grown 2, no, maybe 3 heads.

“Let’s go.”

Irina continues to look at him like he’s more interesting than a yellow super creature so he clears his throat.

“I’ve already informed the superiors about what happened

Irina pales

and I’ve told Maicah and Sandy to return to the headquarters. The car should be here soon so we should get going. Don’t worry, I’m driving.” The ‘It’ll only be me and you’ is left unsaid,

‘Ah, so those were their names.’

Irina must’ve said that aloud because she sees the corners of Karasuma’s lips curl up slightly.

She doesn't know whether to believe him or not _whether to trust him or not_ so she looks at his hand warily and since her brain feels fried and exhausted, decides ‘Fuck it. I’ve embarrassed myself enough today. If anyone’s figuring out, it might as well be the kid’s future teacher.’

She takes his hand and he pulls her up.

Irina thinks Karasuma isn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it. It was honestly quite hard to write, but it's donee. I'll try to edit soon if I see any mistakes. My eyes hurt so that's it for now. I hope you guys liked it. I promise that Gakushuu's coming next chapter. *intertwines pinkies*
> 
> Leave a comment or kudos if you liked it. It would mean the world to me and boost my morale. Btw, I loved your comments last chapter. It's fun replying.
> 
> Baiii


	3. Strawberry Cake Won My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gakushuu isn't doing this for his father or Irina. Definitely not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry that I've been gone so long :(  
> This chapter has a lot of Gakushuu and Irina moments. I love their friendship in this so much.  
> Hope you guys like this~

The car ride was uneventful.

It was awkward and unnerving to be sitting with someone you just abused with your sandal, but Irina thinks that this is the best course or action.

Speaking of sandals, she got them back so _yay!_

Karasuma may have glared at them as she picked them up, but Irina ignores that because these sandals were special to her.

They were given by her _mentor_.

“Where are we heading?” The ever blunt Karasuma says, eyes never leaving the seemingly empty and deserted street. They had been driving for a minute when the man realized that he had no idea where to go.

_‘She might be leading me to my death.’_

An image of the sandal and the blonde’s blue eyes came to mind.

One of the reasons why he lost his composure a few minutes ago was because of the look on her eyes. He swears that he saw a glint of a murderous look in them. It sent shivers down his spine, unconsciously making him freeze in his spot.

But yeah the sandal hitting him in the face was definitely part of the reason why he took so long to run after her.

Irina was an assassin. _She could kill him._

Not that he couldn’t protect himself of course.

(Sadly dear Karasuma, Irina is not planning on leading you to your death.)

Instead she was busy thinking hard, **very hard**.

She knew that she wanted to head to head to the blonde boy’s house, but she didn’t exactly know what to say, even worse, what to do.

_‘Hey Ga-kunn! I’m here to tell you that I’m inviting you to work with me to kill a super octopus-like creature because it wants to explode and destroy Earth, and protect a bunch of junior high kids, which by the way are the kids that you and your goons seem to dislike because they’re “incompetent”. Big shock right? Will you accept it? I know you will! We really need your help._

_Then rainbows, sparkle, and sunshine because Gakushuu accepts it and they skip happily into the sunset where a super creature doesn’t explode and they live happily ever after.’_

Yeah no

That was **not** happening.

She needed to find a way to make him accept the deal and agree.

She could try convincing him, but she needed _something._

Something that the boy wanted. That he craved for.

_Something fool-proof_

‘Strawberry cake’ a silent voice in her head supplied.

The blonde’s eyes widened. Of course. Gakushuu was a die hard for strawberry cake. She remembers one time that he even went as far as stopping in the middle of his work because he saw a bakery that apparently sold amazing strawberry cakes.

Gakuhou, of course, scolded him for it, but Gakushuu was not swayed.

_“Irina, I swear, you have to try it. It was like heaven on my mouth.”_

_The blonde woman nodded, her shoulder-length waves following her movement. “I will sometime. Let’s go together.”_

_She internally coos when the 9-year-old brightens up._

_Gakuhou only scowls at them. “Children,” he murmurs, continuing to read the newspaper._

_Irina smiles behind her cup of tea._

_If it was a few years ago, he would've told them off completely because "Deserts are only meant to be enjoyed when you have completely earned it. Eating it would prove to be a hindrance."_

_‘He's softened up over the years.’_

_Just like that, the three bask in the comfort of one another in the Asano breakfast nook._

“Stop.”

Karasuma, surprised that Irina decided to pipe up when they were in the middle of the highway, hums in confirmation.

‘Is she trying to get me killed through a car accident?’

He drives towards a parking lot nearby and parks.

He turns towards the blonde woman who opens her door as soon as the vehicle stops.

Scared that she’ll do something reckless in public, Karasuma exits the car and quickly goes after her.

She was heading towards

‘A bakery?’

The man quirks his eyebrow at Irina once he manages to catch up to her.

She ignores it and continues forward, opening the glass door.

The smell of freshly baked goods hits their noses immediately.

Irina once again, ignores the curious glances of the customers and heads towards the display area.

People glanced at the odd duo.

Their clothes and looks were definitely not what one would regularly see in a rather small and cozy bakery.

Irina looks around the multiple products, while Karasuma resigns to his fate and stands by the end of the display counter, leaning against the wall.

He could feel the stares and the awkward aura, making him hypersensitive and sharpening his senses.

After about 5 minutes, Karasuma feels someone tapping on his shoulder. 

He tried to hide his surprise, but if the quirk of the blonde's lips were anything to go by, he didn't do a very good job at hiding it.

He looks over at the blonde woman as they stare at each other for 5 seconds.

“What” It was more of a statement than a question.

“I got cake.” Irina says as if they weren’t currently in a bakery.

Karasuma nods, “I can see that.”

In fact he did not see it at first, but the blonde was holding rather nice-looking black box, which he assumes is the cake.

_Fancy_

Everyone in the bakery let out collective sighs when the two had finally left.

‘That was awkward, unnerving, and uncomfortable.’

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

They finally arrived at the street where the Asano household was located and Irina feels jittery. She just realized that she hadn’t informed Gakushuu or his father about anything.

‘Gakuhou’s going to **kill** me.’

She internally groans when she thinks of her impending doom.

_The older Asano glaring her down, while the young Asano stood beside him, giving her a blank look because ‘What the fuck Irina, you don’t just do things like this.’_

She’d rather die from falling off a building thank you. Maybe even getting into a car crash was a better way to end her life.

She silently curses when she sees the monotonous grey house.

“Karasuma, you can stop here.”

The man nods stiffly and pulls on the breaks.

The vehicle comes to a halt and the two adults (ehem, one adult and one teenager) sit in silence.

Karasuma decides to be the bigger man and opens his car door. He looks at the blonde woman on the passenger seat as he takes a brown folder from the backseat.

Irina takes in a deep breath and calms herself.

‘Here goes nothing.’

She exits the car and starts walking towards the house.

Karasuma stiffly follows behind her.

He looks around the prestigious-looking neighbourhood and takes in his surroundings. He feels as if he’d been here before, but he can’t recall when.

The two end up in front of a monotonous, yet expensive house.

Irina steps towards the guard who slightly smiles when he caught a glance of her.

She smiles back and Karasuma wishes he could hear what the two were talking about. He sees the guard? glance at him once.

‘Hopefully good things.’

He opens the rather tall gate and ushers the two inside. Irina ventures to the front door and Karasuma catches up with her.

On the way, he looks at the 50-year-old man and nods. The man smiles in a way that brings small chills to Karasuma’s spine.

“Who was that?”

“That was Jin. A driver.”

Karasuma wants to further probe about the man because _he’s definitely not just a driver-_

But he holds himself back.

The blonde was being distant, and it probably would be best to not get on her (or anyone in the household’s) bad side.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

‘This is it.’ Irina thinks as she stands in front of the main door, Karasuma beside her.

She had already told Jin about them needing to see Gakushuu so he’s most probably already alerted him through the communication system in the house.

All she has to do is knock on the door. Assassins had keen senses after all.

Just **knock-on-the-door**.

If she could enter without doing so, she could enter doing it.

Gotta have good manners from time-to-time after all.

Especially if you plan on recruiting a 14-year-old-assassin-

Stop, Get it out your head.

She intakes some air and proceeds to knock thrice.

1-2-3

She hears footsteps going down the stairs. _Gakushuu always tries to make sounds._

4-5-6

The door handle rattles. _A normal person shouldn’t be able to get there so fast._

7-8-9

The door opens.

10

Irina smiles brightly at the confused strawberry blonde.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Gakushuu doesn’t know what to expect when he hears Jin’s voice over the communications system.

He pauses in his reading and listens to him.

“Asano-sama, there are two people that wish to see you. They are Irina-sama and a man named Karasuma Tadaomi. I have already let them in. No weapons or seemingly any bad intent. They do not prove to mean any harm.”

He hums in thought.

“I’ll be down soon. Thanks Jin.”

“I am simply doing my duty.”

The soft beep signals the end of the call, and Gakushuu stands up.

‘Now, what could Irina and Karasuma Tadaomi want from me?’

It turns out that they wanted **a lot** from the boy.

Once he opened the door, he gave them a confused look, practiced of course, and smiles soon after.

Irina’s smiling happily, holding a box of some sort, and Karasuma has a look of confusion in his face.

‘This is the Srawberry?’

Karasuma was bewildered.

‘The principal’s son?’

It was no secret that the Asano father and son duo were strange and held more authority, charisma, and confidence than regular people, but to know that Asano Junior was an assassin that ended so many lives, he might as well have planted bombs across Asia and activated them all at once.

Their strange characteristics might lead to people believing that they had driven multiple people to debt, but it wasn’t so much as one would assume that the younger Asano was an assassin.

In an attempt to calm himself, he decides to take a mental note of anything weird.

'Asano Mysteries #1 - Asano Jr. is Strawberry'

'Asano Mysteries #2 - Strange Driver/Guard'

He could tell that he was beginning to become like a certain blue-headed student, but if it was to uncover the truth and hopefully bring him back to his senses, he would do it.

He would’ve doubted everything, but Irina says “Hey Ga-kkun!” in the most cheerful way possible, and the boy smiles his usual “I’m perfect at everything” smile, but Karasuma can see the hint of endearment in his eyes.

_They definitely knew each other._

And that was how they ended up in the Asano’s living room, on their grey-colored couch, across the chairman’s son of the school they were working at.

An old-looking lady came over and placed two cups of tea in front of them.

Irina thanks her and takes her cup, while Karasuma doesn’t even make a move to touch his cup.

‘Be alert.’

The lady, who Irina referred to as Tamako smiles and returns to the kitchen.

When she was out of sight, Karasuma cleared his throat and started.

“By now, you probably already know, that we work under the Ministry of Defence.”

Gakushuu hums in agreement, and Irina pipes up. “You are, but I’m not.”

Karasuma ignores that in favour of passing the brown folder towards the boy.

“Irina has said some…interesting things about you.”

The boy perks up and glances towards the blonde who was doing her very best to avoid his stare.

Honestly, he wasn’t surprised. He knew that she out of everyone he knew would blow his cover one day (not much people knew about his identity), but he didn’t expect it to be towards a government official.

“I didn’t tell them it was you.” She looked guilty as she said those words.

Gakushuu believes her.

“Do you accept it? It is a job offer so we are planning to pay you-”

Gakushuu scoffs at the “pay” part. He had more money than what he would need, yet they expected to bribe him?

“No”

“No?”

“How about now?”

Irina looks at him with pleading eyes as she reveals the content of the box.

It was a slice of strawberry shortcake. Gakushuu could feel himself stiffen.

‘It’s the first cake I’d ever remembered eating.’

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

_“Irina, where are we going?” A 7-year-old Gakushuu asks as he tries to escape the hand enclosed around his rather small ones._

_The said capturer only brightens up and continues to drag the boy._

_“To the bakery! You know, the one I told you about”_

_The boy loses the colour in his face._

_“But father said that I wasn’t allowed to eat sweets! I’ve never been allowed cake Irina.”_

_He whispers the last part, afraid that maybe his father would use his superhearing skills and find out that he had managed to escape with Irina. He was supposed to be training, yet the 13-year-old blonde dragged him out of his practice room without anyone’s consent._

_Irina only pulls him even more. “Look Gak-kun”, she begins, turning around and holding the boy’s shoulders._

_The snow falls gracefully around them, not batting an eye towards the two children._

_“It’s Christmas.”_

_“I was 4 when I last celebrated it.”_

_“Well, now you’re 7 when you get to celebrate it again. We’re going to eat cake.”_

_She says with finality in her voice._

_Gakushuu only lowers his head._

_At the lack of response, she gently grabs his scarf, tightening it around his neck._

_He wasn't so good at hiding his shivering._

_“We can go back if you want to?”_

_The boy lifts his head as soon as he hears those words._

_He can see the look of pity swirling in her eyes. It was the same look his father had given him. Pity for being **weak**._

_Yet the look Irina gives him doesn’t feel the same. It was pity, yet at the same time it was laced with sadness._

_She was sad **for him**._

_He felt so touched. No one had ever given him such a look ever since that day. Only Irina had._

_He had made one of the only people he truly cared about feel sad on his behalf._

_He quickly shakes his head._

_“N-o.”_

_Training can wait later. His father's words can wait later._

_“We can go.”_

_She smiles widely, starting to drag him towards ‘the bakery’ once again._

_He finds himself smiling back at the blonde._

_For now, he was going to eat cake...with Irina._

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ok, so maybe he did feel a little bit bad. The older blonde had been complaining to him about her job the past few weeks. He didn’t actually know the depth of her work then, not because he couldn’t, but because he simply didn’t want to. He was curious sure, but if his father didn’t want him prying into it, he wouldn’t do so. He had plenty of things to worry about in A Class as well.

"Gakunn, c'mon. I know you want-" 

_He does, he really does._

So with all the guilt of a man who’d accidentally stepped on a puppy, he lets out,

“No-”

'I'msorryIrina-'

“What he means is yes.”

Everyone turns to looks at the doorway where Asano Gakuhou stood.

Gakushuu could feel his face fall.

'Where did he come from?' Gakushuu wonders. His eyes glance at the duffel bag beside his father, and his mind makes the connections.

'Traning' 

_Typical_

Karasuma was surprised. He hadn't heard Asano Sr. enter the house at all.

'Asano Mysteries #3 - No sound of footsteps.'

Gakushuu honestly couldn’t believe his ears. Was his father telling him to join the class of which he’s been trying to figure out, discreetly mind you, the secret of? He was doing it in secret, but nothing ever remains hidden from Asano Gakuhou.

“What do you mean yes?” He recoiled his anger. He was enraged yes, but above all, he was curious.

Why did his father have a sudden change of heart? And why does he suddenly think **he** has the right to decide for his son?

He must have a goal. A reason. A plan.

“I meant that you are transferring to E Class.”

“I have yet to make my final decision.” He grits out, trying his best to hide his annoyance.

“Ah, yes indeed, but it is my school. Do you oppose not only mine, but the Ministry of Defence’s proposal?”

He intakes a deep breath.

He looks at his father’s ice-cold look and sees the slight pull of the corners of his lips.

He looks at Karasuma who was looking like he’d rather be anywhere else but here.

He looks at the strawberry cake. ‘It looks so good.’

And finally, he glances up at Irina who was basically pleading with her eyes. He knew that Irina was having a hard time adjusting to her new job. He’d heard every complaint come out of her mouth. He didn’t even need to hear it to know.

He pretends to look as if he was contemplating, which he kind of was, but I he were to ask himself further, he knew that he already had the answer.

He was doing this for the strawberry cake and for the victory of finding out 3-E’s secret. He was doing it **only** for that. Nothing else.

Definitely not for his father or because he cared for Irina.

**Definitely not**.

He picks up his fork and takes a piece of cake.

“Fine.”

‘Good job Gakushuu! Act unaffected!’

The look on his father’s face tells him that maybe he hadn’t acted unaffected well enough.

“There is a catch though.”

Silence befalls in the room.

“I don’t want my identity to be revealed to anyone.”

He lets out the deadliest glare he can muster because he means it.

Karasuma seems to understand because he nods his head, and says “I’ll see what I can do.”

It wasn’t the best answer, but the man’s expression tells Gakushuu that he will most definitely see what he can do so he can only take his word for it.”

“Congratulations Asano, you’ll finally be achieving your goal of finding out 3-E’s secret.” He was smiling, not a happy smile, but a maniacal one.

The younger Asano scowls. He wanted to know their secret, but not like this. His father was giving him such a cynical grin. He was looking down on **him**.

His anger was short-lived because Irina suddenly bolts up her seat and screeches.

Karasuma encourages him to go through the files, and tells him everything about the yellow octopus and all of the assassin training, which surprises him at first, but he figures the Ministry must really be pulling out the big guns for the salvation of the world.

He finds out that he would be used as a sort of last resort and would be there to protect the students if deemed necessary, which ok he was not fond of having to watch out for a bunch of junior high kids.

‘I guess this is it. Goodbye A Class. Goodbye reputation.’

‘Hello E Class and your stupid fucking secret.’

He stabs another piece of strawberry cake and puts it in his mouth.

‘This is really good.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellou
> 
> I finally finished it aaa. I'm sorry it took so long. I just could not write. I'm not sure what to think of the chapter, but I really enjoyed writing the Christmas part. It made my heart so soft.  
> I want to say thanks for reading this, and thank you for the nice comments and kudos. I feel so touched when I read your comments. 
> 
> What do you think of the story's direction? Is it too fast? Should I add more plot? Any opinions would be great.
> 
> Belated Merry Christmas and advance Happy New Year everyone!  
> Happy Holidays :)  
> I can't believe it's going to be 2021 soon. Time flies so fast :(
> 
> Bai~


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